Longhorns Country

Tyrese Hunter Hits Layup as Time Expires, Longhorns Beat No. 9 Baylor

The Texas Longhorns desperately needed a win against the No. 9 Baylor Bears on Saturday and got it in thrilling fashion.
Zach Dimmitt|
Tyrese Hunter Hits Layup as Time Expires, Longhorns Beat No. 9 Baylor
Tyrese Hunter Hits Layup as Time Expires, Longhorns Beat No. 9 Baylor

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Texas Longhorns

AUSTIN -- Badly needing a win after a 1-3 start in Big 12 play, things were hardly getting easier for the Texas Longhorns at home on Saturday, as they hosted the No. 9 Baylor Bears.

It literally took all 40 minutes, but Texas pulled off its best win of the season and did so in thrilling fashion.

After Baylor forward Jalen Bridges hit a game-trying triple with 5.1 seconds left, Texas guard Tyrese Hunter went the length of the court and hit a hanging layup as time expired to give the Longhorns a much-needed 75-73 win over the Bears.

"I'm proud of these guys," Hunter told ESPN. "We going through so much right now but we all sticking together."

Hunter led Texas (13-5, 2-3) with 21 points and three assists while Dylan Disu added 19 points. Max Abmas posted 15 points, five rebounds and seven assists.

Hunter's game-winner marked the third go-ahead shot Texas has hit this season in the final seven seconds or less. Abmas hit the other two in wins over Louisville and Cincinnati.

Baylor (14-4, 3-2) entered Saturday as the third top-10 team the Longhorns have faced this season. The Bears were led by freshman Ja'kobe Walter, who tallied a game-high 22 points and seven rebounds.

Both teams had some lights-out shooting in the first half, with the Longhorns showing particular urgency due to three early conference losses. But despite going 9 of 11 from deep in the first half, Texas only led 42-41 at halftime.

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Baylor ended the game on a near eight-minute drought without a field goal until Bridges' rainbow triple tied the game. But that cold stretch proved to be the difference for the Bears, whose lack of offense in the final minutes gave a desperate Texas team a chance.

The Longhorns will look to build on the momentum of a top-10 win when they visit the No. 15 Oklahoma Sooners on Tuesday.

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Zach Dimmitt
ZACH DIMMITT

Zach Dimmitt is the Deputy Editor for Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI. He also contributes as a writer for the On SI channels of the Oregon Ducks, Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans. He was previously the editor-in-chief of Buffalo Bills on SI, Philadelphia Eagles on SI and Seattle Seahawks on SI. Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Dimmitt received his Bachelor’s Degree in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin in 2022. He originally started with SI’s Fan Nation network in 2021, providing extensive coverage of the NFL and NBA along with college football and basketball. In that time, Dimmitt has published thousands of stories and has reached millions of people across multiple fan bases. You can follow him on X at @ZachDimmitt7

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